


More Than Infatuation

by FirstMovement



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Psychological Drama, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-03 08:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FirstMovement/pseuds/FirstMovement
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She awoke from the car crash, just to discover she suffered some memory loss. As she struggled to continue her life, she found there was something amiss with her life</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Title : More Than Infatuation  
> Author : FirstMovement  
> Beta-Reader : JadePhoenixBurning  
> Pairing : Serena x Darien  
> Type : AU, modern day  
> Disclaimer : The characters of this story is not mine…
> 
> AN : First of all, thank you so much for JadePhoenixBurning for beta-ing this story, can’t do all this without you… Second, this story was originally a one shot, and I ended up writing this for 12+ words, so I break it to three parts. I'm going to post the next part after re-reading it

Part I

* * *

She opened her eyes to the blinding white light. It stung her eyes unpleasantly, making them moisturize in an instant. She blinked a few times to lessen the pain, and it did, much to her relief.

She allowed her eyes to wander around to examine her surroundings. She was not in her comfy and fluffy bed; in fact it was hard and stiff. The wall was not baby blue like she had in home; instead it was a spotless white. On her bedside table, her despicable alarm that had always occupied it was changed to some unknown machine that emitted constant beeping sounds. All in all, she did not recognize the place she was in right now.

Where was she?

She turned to her left, which she realized was a hurtful thing to do. Her muscles were aching with a small movement, as if she never used it for a long time and it got stiff. She called someone, anyone, but her voice came out raspy.

What happened?

Her struggling spurred movements from the corner of the unknown room. She could see from her peripheral view that the movements were indeed a person. This person stood from his corner and hurriedly came to her bed.  She could see that it was a man, a man who brought her brows knitted in confusion; a contrast to the shocked expression on the man's face.

For the next several moments they stared at one another, her identifying the person who was seeing her as if mesmerized, him staring at her dumbfounded as if waiting for something to happen. She knew him; she would know those blue eyes and black hair everywhere.

"Dar-" her chocked voice was dying half way, but it was enough to send the man to snap from his catatonic state with a gasp.

"Oh my God! Serena, you're back! How are you feeling, dear? Do you want something? Oh God, you don't know how much you scared me! Please,  _please_ , never,  _ever_ , do that again!" Darien said almost burst in tears.

She wanted to say something, anything, to respond to his ranting. Or just to simplyget an explanation for her questions regarding her whereabouts and what happened, but her shore throat made it seem impossible to form a word, much less a sentence.

"I-"

Darien looked at her in concern, and then realized what she need.

"Oh, sorry Baby. Here, drink some water," he held her to a sitting position with gentle care and took the glass of water from the bedside table. He guided her to drink it slowly, delicately. Then he laid her back to the uncomfortable mattress, scowling when noticing that it was too hard for his Serena.

"Wait here okay? I'll call someone," he kissed her forehead softly then rushed out.

Serena then watched his departing figure disappeared through the door. What the hell happened?! She woke up in the hospital (at least she guessed that she was in there since there was no other place that was so white except for hospital's room) with sore muscles and dry throat. She sorted through her memories to the last thing she remembered before waking up.

A blur of something flashed into her mind. What was that? It was too fast to be recognized. She was moving too fast that it was become a blur. Black… She was surrounded by black, but it's not night time. She could remember the sun illuminated her surroundings through the window…yes, a window… A car! She was driving a car!

She winced when a sharp pain shot her head.

Ugh, thinking made her head hurt. No, wait. Her head was already aching from the first moment she opened her eyes. What happened?

She frowned, she started to hate those unanswered question.

The door opened with a creak, her attention was snapped to the figure wearing a white coat on the door way, making her guess was true that she was indeed in a hospital. The doctor, her doctor, walked swiftly to her bed followed by Darien. The wrinkle around his eyes told that his age was more than 50 years old, some white strands of his hair confirmed that.

"Hello there, I'm Dr. Collins, the primary doctor on your case. How do you feel?" he asked her with a soothing tone.

Serena's eyes darted to the person behind Dr. Collins. Darien was looking intently at her; the frown digging into his forehead a clear indication that he was deep in thought.

"Tired," and before she could help, she voiced the nagging question on her mind, "What happened?"

The expressions that the men gave her were not what she had been expecting. Dr. Collins raised his brows while Darien gasped in shock.

Serena knew that there really was something wrong. Her heart beats started to increase, what happened?

Damn! She now officially hated that question!

Dr. Collins started to talk slowly, as if talking to a small child, trying to make sure his words were understood.

"You were in an accident. You have been in a coma for a week," then he added, "What do you remembered?"

Her eyes widened at his statement. She had an accident? That explained a lot! The aching on her body, the pounding in her head, was actually from an accident! And he said she was in a coma! That's probably where her dried throat came from. She was still processing the information when she noticed Dr. Collins was waiting her answer patiently.

Serena closed her eyes, trying to recall the image that not 5 minutes ago played in her head. The flash of a blurring view through the window came to her again. She winced when she tried to probe her memories, it hurts.

"I remember driving a car," she said opening her eyes, frustrated from not able to tell what really happened.

Dr. Collins nodded his head unconsciously while thinking about her answer. "Anything else?"

Darien, who only observed silently the questioning all along, knitted his brows to the aging man when he asked her that last question. Dislike was clearly shown on his face.

"Errrm…. I was talking with my friends… about a dress… a dress we saw on the display window," Serena's hoarse words snapped Darien's gaze back to her.

The furrows in his forehead deepened more; a strange look adorned his face.

"I see. I'll do some tests to see how you're doing, okay?" Dr. Collins said while putting his stethoscope on. It took 10 minutes to finish, and in all that time Serena couldn't ignore the intense way Darien looked at her.

"Get some rest for now, I'll get back to run some test again in half an hour,” Dr. Collins nodded then processed to leave the room while indicating to Darien to follow him.

Darien stared at Serena ashe walked out to the door, only diverting his gaze when the door closed behind him.

Serena's let out a breath she did not even realize that she was holding. There was something in Darien's gaze that made chill run through her skin;it was piercing, like a hawk watched its prey intensely. What was wrong with him?

_You were just in a car crash Serena. Of course he_ **_is_ ** _worried for you. He was just acting like a good boyfriend._

Serena stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Yes, Darien was her boyfriend for a year and half now, well, at least that long if her memories serve her right. Apparently, seeing from her doctor's reactions, she suffered some kind of memories loss from that car accident.

She sighed tiredly; she just hoped that she hadn’t forgotten much.

* * * * *

She couldn't believe she forgot that much. How could she forget that she was married to Darien Shields?

Darien came the next morning just as soon as he had woken up. He told Serena everything that he knew about what had happened to her. It looked as if she was missing six months worth of her memories. That included the memories of her wedding day two months ago and all of the time that she had spent married to Darien since then.

"I can't believe I couldn't remember our wedding. It was a special moment, and not one single memory of it stuck in my mind," she sighed dejectedly.

To say she was heartbroken was an understatement, she had been dreaming of that big day from the time that she was a kid. Wearing her dream wedding gown, walking down the aisle, saying those holy vows in front of the priest, telling to the world that he was her man, her partner, her husband in an undeniable way. She had waited all of her life for those precious moments and she forgot it in a 'whosh' of a second.

Darien took her hand and smiled an encouraging smile to her when sensing her sadness.

"It's okay; it's not your fault. No onewanted that accident to happen anyway. You're here, safe and sound, that's all that matters," he kissed her hand and placed her palm on his cheek, he looked at her, pouring all his love in that simple contact.

How could she have a partner this compassionate, so understanding. His eyes shone with so much untold love for her. What had she done to deserve him? He was just too good to be true. She couldn't help it but trust him instantly that it was going to be okay. She felt guilt somehow for forgetting their wedding, and no matter how hard she tried to remember it, she couldn't.

"It's my fault after all," he diverted his eyes from her, "I should have just taken the day off from work, we could have spent a day together weeks ago and none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry."

Ah, yes, the honey moon, he had told her about it earlier. Being the vice president of a worldwide company, he couldn't take many days off from work and ended up postponing their honey moon. They had been fighting that day one week ago about moving away and when she couldn't take it anymore she had vented her frustration by driving away from him. That's how she had ended up in an accident. Thank Godhe chased her from behind and was able to bring her to the hospital fast.

Thinking about it over again (from what he told her) it was actually her fault. She shouldn't run away like that from him, they could talk about it witha cool head. And looking from his behavior towards her, she was sure that he would be able to take some days off from work for their honey moon in the end.

She caressed his cheek to gain his attention; he shifted his eyes to look at her again.

"It's my fault, too, Dare, and I could only be grateful that you are still here with me. I just couldn't imagine going through all of this without you," she smiled softly at him. She still felt disoriented and confused from the memory loss.And to think, if she had to undergo this incident alone with no support, she was sure she would lost. She couldn't thank Darien enough for being with her.

"I love you Dare, forever and ever"

Somehow, those words did not bring the warm feeling it usually brought to her. She blamed it to her lost memories. She had to fix that; for both of them.

His lips crept up slowly in a happy grin. He took her in his arms without making her IV tub twisted and kissed her passionately, pouring all his love to her.

"I love you Sere. Oh god, I love you so much, forever and eternity," he said truthfully after the kiss that leave them both breathless, cuddling her close to him.

She hugged him closer, she remembered every curve his body made when hugging her. It was her favorite thing to do, snuggling with him on a rainy day, seeking warmth from his body.

She furled her eyebrows. Why couldn't she recall the feeling of safety when he hold her? What was wrong with her?Had the amnesia really changed her that much? Maybe a disoriented brain made everything feel strange…

Her thought was cut when Darien pulled away from her.

"I want to give something to you." Darien took out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a ring in it with four diamonds surrounded an emerald in the center, her birth stone. It was a beautiful yet touching ring, which leaved Serena speechless. "Well, it's actually yours; they took it when you got to the emergency room. It's our wedding band," he said with a smile on his face.

Serena widened her eyes. Of course, they were married; it's not strange having a token to show that you're already someone else's. But it still felt strange for her, to forget that big moment in her life. It was like skipping the wedding part and going straight to married life.

Oh well, they had been in a serious relationship for over a year anyway, so it's not weird that they had gotten married. A small smile crept to her lips when she noticed that he was sitting on the chair beside her, hand stretched out holding the ring, it was like a proposal. She wondered what it was like to be proposed to since she had forgotten hers. As if he read her mind, he did just that.

"Oh, let me do it properly," he drop on one of his knee from the chair he was sitting on to the tile floor. He fixed his gaze to her, pouring all the love he felt towards her to the silent contact.

"Serena, you know that I've loved you from the first time we first met on that fateful day, and ever since then I can't stop loving you. Nor do I want to. It's been torture for me this past 7 days, seeing you lying there, not knowing if I would ever be able to see your smile again; gazing at your beautiful eyes, hearing your refreshing laugher, or kissing you good night. Sure we had our issues and I know this ring is already yours and that this is not the best place to propose… I know that it might sound che-"

She put her fingers on his lips, silencing him effectively. She looked at him with teary eyes and gave him her second answer of, "Yes."

* * * * *

"It's good to be home," Serena stretched her arms out when entering their penthouse. It was the day she was released after two weeks of staying at the hospital. It didn't need to be that long actually, but Darien insisted to be sure about her completely regaining her health back.

Serena felt a pressure on her outstretched hand and notice that it was Darien's hands.

"Don't move too much baby, it could open your stitches," Darien hold her hand in his and kissed it.

He sneaked his other hand around her middle from behind and guided her to their room.

"You need your rest, I'll finish packing our things and then we can order some food," he lowered her in the huge bed and kissed her forehead, "do you need anything else?"

She shook her head in which Darien nodded in knowledge and then left her. She let out a sigh upon his departure. Everything was moving so fast. Yesterday she had just gotten married, again, and today he wanted them to move from the city. It was due to his work actually, and it had been planned for weeks. He also said he didn't want to stay where it reminded him about her coma and the accident she was in. She couldn't be selfish and wail about it, so she said okay; after all, a wife should support her husband in whatever he did, right?

It was at least something she could do for him after all he had done. And it was only moving to another city; she'll still be able to visit her parents and her friends with an airplane. That brought up another thought. Where were they when she was at the hospital?Sure her parents' absence was acceptable since they lived far and their health was not so good to be taken to a six hours trip, but her friends?

Deciding to contact them, she picked up the cordless phone on the bedside table and dialed her parents' number to inform them of her well being. To her surprise the line was dead. She repeated it and again the line was still dead. She looked at the phone in her hand confused, and finally got up from the bed.

"Darien, is the phone broken?" she asked him from the door way.

He spun around so fast she feared his neck would break from the action upon hearing her voice.

"Darling, what are you doing? You shouldn't walk around," he chided in a gentle voice, a scowl on his face.

"Oh Darien, I'm fine. I don't feel any pain anymore, even the doctor said I'm fine," it was sweet for him to worry for her, but to not let her walk even when she was perfectly fine was just too much.

He sneered at her last statement. "The doctor didn't know what is best for you. Meanwhile…" he put back a book he was about to pack and walked to her, "I know what you need the most."

He leaded her back to the room and laid her again on the slightly ruffled bed.

"Now rest my love, tomorrow we have a long way to go," he kissed her hair and started to walk away when she grab his hand, stopping him.

"Wait! Can I call my parents?" she noticed her question made his shoulder tense. He turned around to face her.

"Sorry Hun, I've already turned off the phone. I thought when Itold you that we're movingthat you'd be happy about it so I went ahead and started making preparations but instead you ran away and got an accident," his tone was sad from remembering.

She felt guilty somehow at hearing the reason she had run away and decided she would call when they arrived at their destination tomorrow.

“And don’t worry, I’ve called your parents already. They were sorry they couldn’t see you when you’re on the hospital. And I’ve called them yesterday from my office.”

Well, that was a relief then; at least they knew that she was okay now.

"Don't stress too much. You’re just on an accident.Sleep, okay?" he smiled at her and leave the room.

She let out a big sigh through her mouth. She didn't have anything to do, not even a book to read. She looked around the room. Everything was so new to her. She never remembered ever been sleeping in his room even when they were still dating. Sure they had sex sometimes, but she never stayed long enough to fall asleep in his penthouse. She turned side way and closed her eyes to make sleep come to her. It wouldn't work. She felt so foreign, everything was so new to her, the bed, the pillow, the wall, and it was as if she never slept in here!

_Stupid Serena, of course you had. You're married to him, where else would you sleep?_

She blanked her mind and tried to engulf the darkness within.

* * * * *

To be continued…

* * * * *


	2. Part II

Part II

* * *

 

She opened her eyes to the new city that was her home now. It was different here, the sun was much brighter than in her old place, the climate was more humid, and the flowers were more vibrant. So much was different from before…

Here she was, 26 years old with a husband and a household to be taken care and she still needed comfort from her old blue blanket. She let a sigh out, she could do this. She surely could do this. It would be hard adapting to the new surrounding, but she would manage in a way or another.

"Come on Serena, the car is waiting," Darien said from her left and guided her to get in to the shiny black limo that had been waiting for them at the airport entrance.

Serena inspected the soft material she was sitting on, she then looked at the interior of the limo. It was so elegant and comfortable, there was even a little fridge sitting in the left side of the car. She knew that Darien was financially well-off. She had gone to some of the galas that he'd thrown and saw the fancy clothes that everyone wore there but she hadn't given it a thought. It was at times like this she did notice he was loaded. She could only imagine what things Darien could do with all his money…

She replayed the time when they first met. It was on a high class bar on a spring night (her first time being in such an expensive surrounding), she had just finished her interview with some important people and was trying to enjoy the drink at the bar to reward herself for a week's worth of hard work. It was then she felt some one was watching her. She searched the room only tofind nothing. She shrugged it off and thenordered her drink. Five seconds after that a man with a business suit on slipped on the stool next to her, then he introduced himself as Darien. She learned later that he was a frequent customer of the bar and it was the first time he saw her here. They engaged in small talk about their lives, work, and interests; and as the night was dragged by, their conversation grew longer. She was interestedin this Darien man, and gave him her number when he asked for it. After that they always had a way to keep in contact; either by accidentally bumping into him on the street (which she noticed happened a lot, what a small world this was) or by calling and texting her. It was going on 2 months before he finally asked her on a date. She never thought that the man at the classy bar would be her partner for life.

"What are you thinking?" he asked from beside her, though his eyes were not on her, he was playing with her hair.

"Oh, nothing. Just remembering how we first met," she said with little amusement when looking at Darien's transfixed expression with her hair.

The black haired man looked at her with a small smile. "I remembered that day, you were wearing a Louis Vittoun's blazer, with black tight skirt," he said going nearer at her, "you looked so damn sexy that day."

He kissed her slowly and sensually. She was surprised he still remembered what she was wearing that day, she herself had forgotten it. But she was flattered that he remembered it. It was somehow… sweet. She pulled from his lips and cuddled to him with his arms wrapped around her.

* * * * *

She was rubbing her temple, trying to soothe the impending headache that was surely about to come. No matter how fast Serena worked, there always seemed to be more to do, she even had to bring it home with her to try to finish; much to her own displeasure. Though it was to be expected since she was the new employee.

She couldn't believe her luck for getting a job in such a short amount of time, she couldn't thank her previous boss enough for the recommendation he gave for her. After settling in the new neighborhood for three weeks, she decided to continue her career. But it was a week ago; she couldn't say the same thing now after being dumped with this much work. Work as an editor was life in the deadline, literally.

She massaged her tired neck and adjusted her glasses, once again looking at her laptop screen. It was five minuteslater when she heard the front dooropen. Dismissing it as her husbandcoming home from work she continued with her assignment.

"Baby, I'm home," Darien's voice was heard coming from the hall.

"Uh huh, welcome home baby," she said absentmindedly, eyes not leaving the screen.

"Darling, what are you doing?" he asked her upon seeing her sitting on the living room; feet tucked crossing each other with her laptop sitting on top of it.

"Uuum, I'm finishing my work," she answered without looking at him.

He loosened his tie and placed his briefcase on the coffee table in front of her, then sitting beside her. "I thought you didn't like to bring work home," he asked her peering at her computer.

"I don't. But the work was just too much to finish at the office," she said to him while feeling his hand crept around her waist.

He regarded her answer with a nod, and before she knew it, her laptop had been snatched up by his hand, and the one on her waist was keeping her down in place. She blinked her eyes at the sudden action that just happen before her very eyes. She slide her gaze at his eyes, face still in shocked, mind was not yet registered what had happened.

"You're tired. Just get some rest, okay?" he said putting her laptop down into the coffee table.

She raised an eyebrow on him when his words registered to her mind, then move forward to reach her works just to be held by his arm on her waist. "Darien, I'm fine. It's not like I'd never didthisbefore," she said starting to get annoyed at his behavior. Sure he was more than infatuated with her sometimes, always made sure she was comfortable and safe, caring for her well-being and happiness, fusing about her health and all that. She was grateful with all the things he did for her, she really was. But to just start controlling her every move, she thought it was too much.

"No, no. You are tired, let's just go get some rest," he pulled up with her, looking straight to her eyes.

She heaved a sigh, trying to hold her risen anger. She was not a child to be told to. "Darien, I need to finish them. It was due for T-"

"Thursday, I know. But you need to rest Sere. How long have you been working, hm? 6 hours without a break. Come on, just get some rest okay?" he prompted her softly while massaging her neck with enough pressure; she did not notice it when his hand had moved upwards.

The hand on her neck did wonder to her aching muscles, making her contemplated his words. Her shoulder was hurt from bending too long actually, and her eyes were hot from seeing the monitor for a long time. Maybe she really did need some rest. With a sigh of defeated she nodded at him and get up to go upstairs to their bedroom.

* * * * *

Serena knocked on the door to hisstudy, but noresponse was given. It was time for dinner but Darien hasn't come out from his study. She knocked once again, and when she still received no answer she opened the door. She cast her eyes around and met with nothing. She raised her eyebrows, she was sure he said that he would be in here working. Where did he go?

"Darien? Dinner's ready," she called for him, just to be sure he was not in the room.

Maybe he was in the bathroom? She looked around at his study, she realized that she'd rarely been in there; maybe only twice counting this time. It was neatly arranged, just the way he liked, she mused.  _Neat and organize_. She vaguely remembered he said that to her, he never liked something not planned. She swept the room with her eyes; there was a desk in front of the window,bookshelves on the side wall and a door on another si—

Wait. A door? She didn't know there was a door in his work room.Where did this door lead to? Maybe a bathroom? He could in there then. She put her hand on the knob and turned it, just to find the handle was not moving.

"Darien? Are you ther-"

"Serena!"

She snapped back her head, startled at the sudden sound. He was standing at the door; his face was ashen white, eyes wide open, filled with horror and fear. It was the first time she saw him like this, in such panic state.

"So–sorry. I just, I'm looking for you, dinner's ready," she stumbled on her words, eyes wouldn't meet his. Did she do something wrong?

“Were you opening the door?" his voice was low and menacing.

"No, it was…it was locked. I thought that maybe you're in there, so…." She let her words trailed off, eyes not meeting his in nervousness. She never got him angry with her, not even when they were dating. Somehow making him angry with her frightened her.

He let out a big sigh of relief, rubbing his face in attempt to undo the tension there. "Oh, I was on the bathroom, sorry to keep you waiting," he walked to her and took her hand, guiding her out of the room.

She looked back at the door once more before leaving his work room, curiosity nudge her relax sense now. "Darien, what's inside that room? I didn't know there was an extra room in your office," she wondered aloud.

He glanced at her for a second before answering her question, "it's just some company stuff I was entrusted with. No one is allowed to see it. My life depend on it."

So that's it. Stuff for work. Although she still wondered what kind of company stuff needed to be placed in a room and not some safe. Maybe it was not just some ordinary files.

* * * * *

She craned her neck while standing on the tip of her toes, trying to see further into the shelves. Her eyes brightened when seeing the object of her search. She dropped to her feet due to exhaustion for standing with her toes too long and raised her hand to take the book blindly, guessing by the early position she saw it. Not knowing which one it was, she took all the three she suspected might be her book.

The first one was an interior house magazine, she vaguely remembered reading it almost a month ago, when they had just moved in here. The model itself was too grand to be followed, and she chose to create her own style. The second book was the cooking book she had search for the past 20 minutes. She beamed at the book; it had been a long time ago since she experimented with a new dish. But since her boss did not give her a lot of works these days (what a contrast to his earlier treatment) she had nothing to do, and so cooking was her first option to kill some time.

She was aboutto head to the kitchen when the last book she took caught her eyes. It was a white photo album; she never had seen this album though. She opened the album and was greeted with a smiling face of her and Darien. She remembered it was taken on one of their dates, they were on a picnic and the view was just so amazing she had to take a picture of them there. Other photos of them together adorned the page, she smiled at the memory. She flipped to the fourth page and got confused when there were no photos attached. She flipped another page just to be met with the same nothingness. It seemed only the three first pages that were filled with photos. Where were the pictures of her friends? She sure had them in her old album. Then where was her album?

She moved a small table beside the bookshelves to the front of it. Assuming that it was strong enough to hold her weight, she got on top of it and looked at the shelf where she found the white album. It took her three times re-searching the shelf before she concluded that it wasn't here. Maybe she forgot it when packing back then? She didn't do a lot when she boxed her things.

She got down and placed everything back into its place. She took the white album and looked at it again. She was sure she never seen it before, then it must be Darien's. She reopened the album and saw the picture again. One thing came to her mind upon seeing their photos together. There was not a single photo of their wedding day. The groom must have it right, whether just a simple photo of them at the altar, or with all their family and friends together. Where was it?

She put down the album and walked around the house. They had put some pictures up in several places and she had to look at them to confirm her suspicions. As she walked, she noticed one more thing; they didn't have any big photos of them. A house this big usually had at least one, and the fact they were in love should provide their house with several of them.

She reached the fireplace and took a framed picture on top of it. The picture contain them together holding hands, it was from one of their date period. She placed back the frame and proceeded to their bedroom. Another picture was placed on the small table beside the window to the balcony. She recognized it from when she attended a gala with him, black formal dress matching his suit. Again, no photo from their wedding day. It was all from their dating period.

Furrows appeared on her forehead, a nagging feeling came from her stomach.

She shook her head, trying to dismiss her thought.

_Don't be silly Serena, it's not weird there were no photo of their wedding day. Maybe it was in another album, and you just don't know where that album is. Stop being paranoid._

She sighed and put down the photo, then went downstairs to do hercooking.

* * * * *

Serena sat on the sofa unmoving; her slumped body pressed thecushions to follow the contour of her body. How could this happen to her? She did nothing wrong. She even brings her works home to beat the deadline, and she did it on time. So why did they fire her?

Her work was not good enough.What the fuck did they mean by that? She did her jobgreat. She did what her bosswanted precisely, she even did some searches through their previous articles to learn their writing style. And they had the gall to say that her job was not good enough?! Who the fuck were theykidding?

She was fired just when she started to adjust to the environment. Even if they wanted to fire her they could have at least given her a decent reason and not some bullshit like this. Great, she could survive on her job for only a month, what a new record. She moaned at the unfairness in her life and hugging her feet close to her body, too angry to even shed tears. Why did this happen to her? Drowning in her thoughts, she didn't realize when Darien came back from work and went in to the living room in search of her.

"Serena, are you okay?" he sat beside her and hug her when looking at her depressed form.

In a need of comfort, she let his big body engulfed her petite one. "I was fired today," she mumbled her answer, burying her head in his shoulder. She could feel the hotness on her eyes.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry. What happened? Did you make some terrible mistake? Did you have problem with your boss? Was your boss being a jerk?" he asked her while rubbing her back in comfort. Which did not work as she wanted it to, in fact she was getting angry all over again when hearing her boss again.

"No. I don't even know why they fired me. He just said that my works was not good enough, which was a complete bullshit," she said, narrowing her eyes in anger. If she saw that stupid Jones man again, she would sure shred him to pieces!

"That sounds absurd. I know your work is great! Do you want me to talk to Mr. Jones?" he pulled away from her to look into her eyes.

She shook her head, her face dropping in sadness. "No, that would be-"

Her widened eyes and mid-stopped sentences made Darien even more worried for her.

"Sere? Are you sure you're okay?" he touched her face, which instantly snapped her from her thought.

"Huh? No. I mean yes, I'm fine. It's just, maybe… maybe I did make some mistake at work," she shifted her gaze from his.

"It's alright. Nobody's perfect. Sometimes people make a mistake in life. It's gonna be alright," he said and pulled her again in embrace. She didn't object, too stunned to react at the moment.

No. It's not alright. She never told him her boss' name, she never talk much about her job in fact. Then how did he know? A nagging feeling she had felt a week ago came back to her. She had a feeling that her memory lapse hid something from her. What was it?

"What about we go out and have dinner? It will cheer you up," he suggested while giving her a brilliant smile.

Serena looked at him dumbfounded, and gave a jerk nod of yes.

"Great, let's change some clothes first okay?" he kissed her temple and pulled her from the couch.

What was she thinking? Suspecting her husband to hide something from her… What a bad wife she became. Maybe she did tell him some time ago, she justforgot it. She was known for her clumsiness after all.

* * * * *

"You'll be okay right?" he asked at the door way of their house.

"Of course, it's not like I'm 5 years old being left alone," she giggle at him.

He smiled and bent down to peck her lips. "Okay, I'll go then. Love you," he got on the car and drove away for work.

She stretched her hand up her head, relaxing her muscles a bit. Today was the second day she was off from her work. Yesterday she spent the day on the kitchen, and now maybe she could do some wardrobeshopping. She never did it since she first arrived in here, being busy and all. It could be a lot of fun exploring the whole mall.

She walked to her bed room and prepared for the day.

\------

She looked up from the television whenshe heard the front door opened. She stood up and went to greet Darien home. His tired face lit up upon seeing her. He gave her a peck and smiled at her, which she returned immediately.

"Welcome home. How was work?" she asked while taking off his jacket suit then folded it in her hand.

"It was busy as usual. How was your shopping?" he asked her, walking to the living room.

"It's gr-"

He turned his head to look at her, confused at her halted words. Her heart beat fast, eyes wide in astonish. She quickly composed her expression from shock to confused, if she had a suspicion about him hiding something from her, then it was better if he didn't know.

"It, it was great… Uh, did I tell you today I would go shopping?" she shifted her gaze downward.

He contemplated her question, then shrugged his shoulder. "The car was parked the opposite from this morning. So you must have used it," he said walking to the living room.

"O–oh, right. I used it to go to the mall."

Wrong. She could use it to anywhere she'd like; spa, salon, book store, take out, park. There were too many possibilities. How could he know where she went? Lucky guess?

No. Even though his answer was plausible, it was still a chance one out of a hundred to guess right. It was too coincidental. Was he watching her? No, it couldn't be. She saw him leave for work today, and greeted him from his work after. Did he have someone watching her when he was away? It could be. Why would he do that? She was in no need for a body guard; her life was not in danger or something.

“Is the food already prepared?" he plopped his body to the sofa, sighing in content on the way. His words were enough to snap her train of thought.

"It is. I–I'll go warm it up okay?" she walked fast to the kitchen and prepared the food, while thinking about the possibilities of what could have been happening lately.

The furls on her forehead deepened from her thinking. There was something he was hiding from her, too many things amiss in here. It might be from the memory lapse she had then, since she couldn't remember what had gone wrong in the time they were together. It could be that her life was in danger if he had someone watching for her, or maybe something else. She had to know what it was and get to the bottom of it. But until then she had to keep her suspicions to herself.

* * * * *

To be continued…


	3. Part III

Part III

* * *

 

The engine sounds were fading away as it went further. And when she finally couldn't see the car itself, she closed the door and locked it. Darien had gone off to work, and wouldn't be come back until 6 evening. The maid who usually helped her clean the house every two days was not here right now, making hermove easier.

_Maybe the maid is some kind of spy for him?_

Could be so. She furrowed her brows; she was determined to know what had been happening until right now. If she was really in some sort of danger, than she had to know. She had stayed up late at night thinking about the possibilities, maybe someonethreatened herin regards to his work. He was a big person in the company after all, and it would explain the sudden moving and someone watching over her. And maybe the car accident was from it too.

She narrowed her eyes. If it was truly like that, she would have a word with her husband for not telling her, even if it was for her own protection.

But now, she needed to find some evidence. First, she needed to talk to her friends. If someone knew what happened during her lapse of memory then it must be her friends. She reached the phone and dialed Mina's, one of her best friend, number.

No answer, there was not even a dial tone, just silence. But she just used the phone yesterday to call a fast food service and it did work. Why couldn't it be used now? It couldn't be that Mina changed her phone number right? The operator would tell her if this number was out of use.

She dialed once again and met with the same silence. Was the phone broken? She checked the cord and plug-in, there was no damage and it was attached. She tried to call her other best friend named Raye, but it was met with the same dead line.

Two of her friends changed their phone number in the same time? Unlikely. Assuming that calling Amy and Lita might be fruitless too, she tried to call the local connection, her neighbor.

To her astonishment, it was connected! Another two seconds passed and the receiver picked up.

"Hello?" it was a woman's voice, probably in her mid thirties or more.

Startled at the discovery, she did not prepare what to say to the woman. "Oh, he-hello. Um, this is Serena Shields speaking, your neighbor."

"Oh, Mrs. Shield. What can I do for you?" the woman answered swiftly.

Didn't know what to say at the moment, she asked the things that bothered her at the moment. "Uh, well, I'm just wondering if your number could make long distance call?"

Silence filled the line for a moment; she could picture the woman made a confused face when hearing her question. "Yes I do. I just use it yesterday to call my parents. Is there something wrong?"

Her eyes widened. Then only her line that was cut off from making long distance call.

"Oh, no, no. I'm just wondering. Thank you for your time," in her haste of discovering this fact, she cut off immediately.

What's happening? Why was it that only her number that couldn't do the calling? Could it be so her whereabouts wouldn't be tracked? So no one could get to her. A suspicious that something was really had gone wrong grew stronger, her heart told her she was in danger, and that this feeling was not the first time she had felt it. A sudden awareness gave her a jolt. It has been happened sometime ago.

She determined to know who had been putting her life in danger. She had to search something first while her husband wasn't here, since it could be very much concerning himself and that was why he wouldn't talk about it. She walked to their bedroom first, intent to begin there. Afraid that maybe there was someone out there watching her; she did notopen the curtain of their bedroom and began her search.

She came out with nothing and then proceeded to the next room. She spent all day exploring, searching for something that even she herself didn't know what. She just had to keep searching. There must be something, anything, that would tell her what could possibly have happened in those six month of her memory's loss.

She fell down on the couch, panting from the exhaustion of searching the whole house. Damn, the house was just too big to be searched alone. After 6 hours of searching, she came out with nothing. Absolutely nothing. No photos of their weeding day, no memo from the wedding plan, nor the dress of her wedding. She was a sentimental kind of person; those things from her big day must be kept as a memento. She surely would do that, she always did that, despite her friends saying that it was some kind of childish act. So how come there was not even a single thing from her supposedly big day? It was as if there was never a marriage between them.

Her mind relisted other possibilities of where she could search again. Bedroom, bathroom, living room, garage, and bookshelves. Everyplace where someone could keep something like a record or photos, where else could it be. She had checked up every pl-

Her eyes widened. Of course! His office! Serena pulled out from her sitting position and bolted to Darien's office.

Serena looked around the neatly arranged room, vaguely remembering his warning not to enter this room. But the last place of her search was the most possible place to have something. Yes, this place was mostly used for his work; he must be saving some important file in here. She started at his desk, going through the file in the drawer. It was all some company stuff she had found, half of it even written on another language.

She reached the last drawer; it was filled with their marriage certificate. She finally found something, but not what she expected it. They were marital, it wouldn't be weird to find this in his work place. She sighed in disappointment, putting back the certificate and pushed the drawer to close it.

It was almost missed by her, the black agenda book in the corner. It was more of a phone book, saving numbers and current addresses of people when she read through it. It didn't peak her interest, before she saw a person she knew so well on it.

_Aino, Mina; 23rd Cross Street, Cherry Apartment, 4th floor, number 42; xxx-4533,_   _mina.aino at xxx.com_

Why was her friend's name on it? And completed with the address, number, and email. She traced the name lower, and even surprised to see almost all her acquaintance in it; Amy, Lita, Raye, her parents, Samuel, her friends at work, the guy who worked at the coffee shop she usually had coffee, the laundry woman she always went to, even her neighbor sat her old apartment. The last name on it was the neighbors on this house, her previous boss, and her co-workers; it seemed the person written in here was based on the meeting she had with them. Why did Darien have it? Was it possible by chance he knew all these people too?

She looked back the name at the first page. No, even if it was reasonable to know her friends and parents, it was weird to have a coffee shop employee's number he never ever once met.

To keep track on her? Why should he? He's not some kind of possessive man. He had never shown that he was overly possessive of her. Could it be to keep an eye on her?

She looked back at the black agenda, almost all the names on it had been marked by a highlighter, leaving only the laundry woman, her new neighbors, and some of her co-workers not. What did the high light mean…

People who were close to her? No, she had rarely talked to old neighbors. Some important people to her then? No, the coffee man was only a normal employee…

Damn, this was too frustrating! She got up and sat on the chairat Darien's desk, leaning back to rest her throbbing head. She heaved a sigh, her eyes getting tired from searching through the house. Her eyes roamed the things on the desk absentmindedly; noticing how neatly arranged his desk was. There were stack of papers, folders, pens, telephone, Darien's glasse—

Telephone… Her muscles tensed. He was a vice president of a worldwide technology company, his company must have some branch outside this country, or at least some partnership over the city. Then he should make some international call regarding to work!

She snapped the cordless phone from its place and dialed one of her friend's number, just to be disappointedwhen it did not connect.

She slumped back to the chair. This wasn't making any sense, why every line in this house wasn't connected for long distance call… It couldn't possibly be blocked, right? How did he do his work then?

Tired from her fruitless search, she didn't have the strength to put back the phone and opted to dial a friend she had been able to make on her short time from her latest workplace, having someone to talk to could relieve some of her tension. All her tiredness evaporated when the same silence line was heard on the phone.

What? What was this? How could this happen? She just called Melvin, who definitely lived in the same city. Why was his number was blocked too? What did this mean?

The book…

She grabbed the black agenda and opened it to the last page. Melvin, McCellbellum. High lighted. Could this mark were numbers of which numbers were blocked? Why would Darien do that? He had no business with them; he barely even knew them all, maybe some of her close friends.

_But, still… It could be, right?_  The voice in her mind was disturbing her. What if it was that? Choosing to test her theory, she called the only numbers left that wasn't marked.

She felt her heart stopped beating when the line was not dead. She even didn't realize it when Mrs. Sanders, the laundry woman, answered her phone. She cut off the line immediately.

_Oh god, what is this supposed to mean…_

Her breathing picked up pace, her heart hammered in her chest at fast speed. Thismeant Darien wanted to cut all ties witheverybody then. But for what? Was her life really in danger? That he had to cut all ties with everybody she knew back then?

She needed to call someone, anyone… She needed to talk to her friends, they would probably know what's happening, they were close to each other. But, all of her friends, plus her family, were already marked. Who could she call… There must be a hole…

Chad… She bolted from her seat and flipped the black book to its first page. Her fingers traced the list, hands trembled with anticipation. Chad was the man who usually worked at Raye's temple, before he went to make his music carrier two years ago, they were fairly close since they liked to hang out at Raye's temple. He was back, though decided to live on his own now. Busy with his new life and making new music, the girls and he kept a minimum contact.

That's it! Chad's name wasn't on it! It was hope against hope that he was in his apartment and not doing concert out of the city. She entered Chad's number after looking at it from her phone, thankingGod that they were not completely cut off.

Five seconds of waiting felt like years for her, especially when there was a waiting line this time. She almost let out a cry of joy when the sounds she knew so well answered.

"Hello?" A baritone voice said from across.

"Chad! Oh my god! Chad, please tell me where are you now." She could jump five feet in the air for this little contact with him.

"Serena? Is that you? Uum, I'm on my apartment of course, why?" Now she could literally do those jumps.

"Chad, I need some help. Could you go to Raye or anyone of the girls and give this phone to them? Please, I'mdesperate and I don't know how to contact them."

Hearing the desperate tone in her voice was enough for Chad to help her, Serena was rarely asking for someone's help, and when she needed one then she was in dire of help.

"Sure Sere. They must be on the Arcade right? I'll call you back when I reached-"

"No! No, please don't cut this line. I… I don't know if I can get this line ever again. Can you, can youleave it on?"

She was afraid once the line was dead, she wouldn't be able to call him. And she really was in a need of some contact with someone she knew from those old times.

"Um, sure, I think… But I can't really be a company to you, I don't really like talking through the phone while driving." Chad knew immediately there was something wrong with her,he scrambled to his feet from his leisure position on the sofa and grabbed his keys.

"Fine by me," she finally could let out a sigh, relieving her tension. She could talk to her friends and knew what really happened to her.

"I'll talk to you in 10 minutes again, 'kay? I'll be fast," Chad said through the phone, she could faintly hear an enginebeing started.

"Okay." And the line was silent except from the soft humming of engine from the speaker.

Now what should she do for the ten minutes remaining… She let her eyes wondered the room, trying to pull her mind from the phone and calmed her heart. The room was neatly organized and perfectly clean, while being simple and nice. So much liked Darien. She wondered if the man even had a mistake on his life. His life was flawless, as far as she knew him. And she knew him a lot, being in the relationship for almost two years before marrying him.

He was working as the vice president on a worldwide technology company, his handsomeness was a complement to his well built body. Rich and handsome, one a man would die to have. And yet, even though with his busy schedules, he was still able to come home every night just to be with her wife. Kissing her before and after work, not letting her doing hazardous work, preferring her to stay at home… Come to think of it, he was a bit protective. Or maybe possessive?She hadn't reallynoticed it before now…

So, maybe he was protective and possessive, man were always like that. It was not something new. But those thoughtssent an uneasy feeling to her, as if she was afraid of that personality in him. Was it possible he actually acted overly protective of her? It could, he moved her out of the city just to hide her, right?...

She shook her head. It would be cleared when she talked to her friends, hopefully. She turned her head to the side stretching it and something was caught on her peripheral view. She almost forgot there was an extra room in here. Serena got up from her seat and walked to it.

She put her hand on the handle and pushed it downward. It was locked, the handle won't budge. A small computer with numbers keypad on it was placed beside it, completed with four underscores on the tiny screen above it. She never knew the room needed a pin code to open it; it must be something top secret. Like Darien's company newest design… or maybe something more private, his secret maybe? Before today, she would declare that she knew him very well, but after discovering that black agenda, she wasn't so sure. Darien might be keeping something from her, thinking that it was necessary to make her safe. But she has a right to know! It was her life after all.

_It could be something regarding her in there, maybe about the one who wanted her life? Or maybe something else?..._

Curiosity eating her slowly, making her hand itched to enter some number on that screen. She was his wife, right? He wouldn't mind if she peeped what was inside, right? It couldn't be all work related file in it, maybe their wedding photo was in there. And if it really only containedstuff for workshe doubted she would understand on it.

She knew she only made excuses to see what's inside. But the nagging feeling that she knew this door from somewhere before was bugging her!

What he didn't know won't hurt him, right? It was only peeping, and it was high chance she didn't even know what those files (if it was really some company stuff like he said) mean. And the code could beanything, it needed ten thousands try to get all the possibilities numbers in. What luck she had to enter the right one with only ten minutes?

She turned on the mini-computer, the blue ray on the screen lightened up in a second.

_Let's see, from the most easiest one. 1-2-3-4._

The screen flicked twice before resetting it back to 0-0-0-0.

Okay… That was worth a try, but Darien was not a simple man didn't he. What could possibly be four numbers? A date, or a year. She entered the numbers one by one. His birthday? No. The year maybe? No either. Mine then? Nope. Our wedding day? Uh-uh. Then the day he proposed her? Wait, she never asked that to him.

When or where did he propose her? He said he did it twice, one officially then the other was on the hospital. Oh- the day she was released from the hospital! She entered the number, and once again denied the access.

Maybe he did not use date then? But he used date for his security code on his penthouse back then. What was it before? Her birthday. But she had done that and it won't budge! Maybe she should try the six month date prior from her memory loss, one of it could be the day he proposed to her.

She had reached the middle of it,  _0-2-1-8_ , when the phone she was holding screamed her name.

Startled, she put the speaker on her ear. "He-hello?"

"Rena?! Rena, is that you?"

"Raye! Oh god, I finally reached you!" She never felt happier than now to finally hear Raye's voice. She was ready to jump in joy for able to reach her friends!

"What? I'm the one who  _can not_  reach you Rena. No, that's not important. Rena where are you?" she could hear the edgy tone on Raye's voice.

Why did Raye ask her that? She must knew about her departure of course, Darien said they already knew and were sad that they couldn't have more time to say goodbye to her. Darien said that to her, and he didn't lie to her right? Why should he lie to her about her friends? "I'm out of the city of course. Why?" she heard a sigh had been released from across the phone.

"Let me talk to her," a faint voice said from the background, which she identified as Mina's.

"Sere, are you alright? How's the thing with Dairen?" Mina's alarming voice somehow told her that something's was not right.

"Yes, of course I'm alright. And Darien's just fine also, he was working now. Do you want to leave a message for him?" she was rather sad they had to ask about Darien. They had been out of communication for about six weeks, don't they miss her?

A silence filled the line for several minutes. "What do you mean he was working? Are you with him, Sere?"

Why shouldn't she? He was her husband, right? It was only logical to be near him. "Yes, of course I'm with him. We were married guys, don't tell me you forget it," she chuckled, assuming her friends was just joking with her.

Though it soon died down when she heard no respond from Mina.

"What do you mean you were married? Sere, tell me you're  _really_  okay," Mina's voice was strained, where she guessed from worry and fear.

What was she afraid for?

Her condition after the car crash? They didn't come to see her actually, so maybe they were worried.

"I'm fine Mins. It's already over a month from the accident, so I'm perfectly fine. Well, accept for the memory loss of course," she tried reassured her friend, Darien said he had told them about her condition, they really did not need to worry about her though she appreciated it. "Which reminds me, can you tell me all of the events from the past six months before I went away? I felt something was off with my life."

"What?! Sere—"

The line was silent suddenly, and a second after that a dead line was heard.

What? What the hell?!

She dialed the number and the same dead tone met her. She cursed under her breathe. How could this happen? She was just so near the truth and it was snapped out from her!

She let out a calming breathe, and tried to rethink the short conversation she just had.

They were worry about her; from the edge voice on her friends it must be serious. Then something had really happened with her in those six months prior, probably regarding her life in danger. And the fact that they seemed surprised to find her married with Darien did not go unnoticed from her.

Could it be Darien and her never really got married at the first place? But she had just found the marriage certificate, so it couldn't be. Then Darien had done something terrible that the thought of marrying him was not accepted by her friends? Or were they married in secret, that would explain the absent picture and mementos. If that was so, why did he do that?

Maybe he was involved with something dangerous and by that her life was at stake? It was the most plausible reason she could think of. He was a big person after all, 'known by all, even your grandmother', she could vaguely remembered he joke something like that on the day they had first met—

" _I remembered that day, you're wearing a Louis Vittoun blazer, with black tight skirt. You looked so damn sexy that day."_

He said that when she mentioned their first time on the limo. Then it must be considered as an important day if he remembered it that well. Her eyes drifted to the mini-computer's screen she had been struggled with the past ten minutes.

What day was that? She was sure she saw flowers blooming across the bar. So it must be on spring then. And as far as she knew, she went out at that time on weekend nights…

Turning on her cell phone, she opened the calendar and went to spring months at one and a half years ago, then putting one by one the date of the possible answers. She was reaching her second month and first week when the screen flickered once and shut down, and a soft click was heard from the door.

Her hand froze, heartbeat increased, eyes went wide. The door was opened.

She never expected it to open, and actually she was hoping it wouldn't open. Half of herself told her that nothing was wrong with her life, that she was just being overly paranoid; the part where she undergo this past weeks despite the uneasiness she felt, the part where she was afraid to know the truth. But other part told her to be cautious, that everything was just too weird for her life, that it did not make any sense, from the missing wedding picture to the blocked numbers.

Her eyes turned to her left hand, to the cordless phone she was holding tightly right now. The phone she had just used to call her friends… She decided it then. She had enough of running; she would get this figured once and for all!

She gripped the metal handle, a cold sensation greet her clammy hand making her tense. She took a calming breath and pushed the door forward.

It was a small room (as wide as a walk-in closet, if not slightly bigger) with just a dim light as its lightning. A desk with a computer on it was placed on the far end of the room, a pile of papers and cds were placed on each side of the room, with a small open cabinet full of clothes added on the right side. Some glass frames were hanged on the wall and the one in front of her was covered by photographs.

Some of the pictures caught her attention. From the distance she was standing at, she could see the pictures on the wall. She knew those pictures alright.

Her legs brought her nearer in slow unbelieving strides. She reached the desk, leaning her body forward to look more closely at the picture, at the object of the photograph.

It was her. She was in the middle of buying a coffee, without her noticing that her picture was taken. The date said it was from a year ago. She shifted her eyes to the picture beside. Another candid photo, of her when she had just gotten out from a cab. The date was from six months ago. And the picture above it was her walking in the crowd while making a phone call; the date was eight months ago.

It's her. Oh god, it was all her. All of it. She looked around frantically, noticing that the pictureswere all taken without her knowing.

Darien stalked her,  _had_  stalked her for more than a year. He had taken pictures of her and displayed it on the wall. How far had he stalked her? Did he put something in her apartment? Taps? Camera? From the picture on the wall, the one where she was on her bedroom changing clothes, it could be. How far had heinvaded her privacy? When she slept? When she phoned her friends? When she took a bath?

This wasn't happening. This was  _not_  really happening. She was just in some twisted dream; her mind played tricks on her. He wouldn't do that, he  _couldn't_  do that. A clatter of sounds was heard from behind her, startling her already high adrenalin. She didn't notice she had backed off from the photo and reached the wall, making her back collide with the rack. Some cds was on the floor, and even though the dim light this room had provided, she still could read the title on the case.

_Serena, Bath Room, Sunday morning, September 3rd 20xx._

She shifted her eyes to look at the pile of cds on the racks, it could easily passed the number of one hundred. And it was all about her. He taped her? Was it not enough to take pictures, but also record her? Watching what she was doing every day? Every hour? How long had it gone? A month? A year? From the first time they started dating? How long? Watching her taking a shower, sleeping, eating. Everything. Oh god, she felt sick, she felt violated, she felt the need to throw up.

She had to get out of here.

She turned and blindly going forward, trying desperately to get out from this vicious room. Her sightless escaped made her stumbled on something and fell hitting a cabinet. She guessed shehad crashed on a pile of clothes by the softness she felt when she fell. She opened her eyes and came up with colors of clothes. Colors she knew very well.

She took out the dress from the hinge. It was a pale blue knee length dress, a v neck with a small cut on the side. It was a nice dress, the material was soft and light, suitable for a stroll in a park on the summer afternoon. A kind of dress she would wear for her first date with him. A kind of dress she thought she lost when she laundered the dress.

The dress slid from her trembling fingers, she shifted her eyes to look at the cabinet. Yes, she remembered that silver night gown, the one she wore for one of his business dinners, and never wore after that due to the rip on the back, or the red blouse beside it, for where she wore on one of their lunch dates, then lost itafter they had sex in his old penthouse. She always thought all those missing clothes just slipped in somewhere, never thought that it was stolen and was made a collection of some twisted mad man.

But it's not all, her eyes landed to the glass frame on the wall beside the cabinet. A black panty,  _her_  black panty, with a rip on one of the side, from their first night together. She wouldn't miss it, she was sure it was hers. It was her favorite after all.

_Darien_   _looked penetrating through the doctor's shoulder to_ _the questioning all along._

_"It's okay; it's not your fault. No one_   _wanted that accident to happen anyway. You're here, safe and sound, that's all matter"_

" _The doctor didn't know what best for you. Meanwhile I know what you need the most."_

He had been caring through her recovery, way too caring to her.

" _I wanna give it to you. Well, it's actually yours; they took it when taking you to the emergency room. It's our wedding band."_

She looked at her ring finger where it hosted the diamond ring. There were no wedding pictures, because there was no wedding to begin with.

_"Sorry Hun,_   _I've already turned off the phone_ _._ _I thought when Itold_   _you that we're moving that you'd be happy about it so I went ahead and started making preparations_   _but instead you ran away and got an accident."_

He tried to block her from her friends, so no onewould know what had happened to her while he moved her further away from them.

_"That sounds absurd. I know your work is great! Do you want me to talk to Mr. Jones?"_

She wasn't fired because she was not good, but because she was too busy with her work and she had pay less attention to Darien. He had it set up so that she was fired and become a full time house wife.

_"How was_   _your shopping? Oh, the car was parked the opposite from this morning. So you must_   _have_   _used_   _it."_

_"Thursday, I know. But you need to rest Sere. How long have you been working, hm? 6 hours without a break."_

He had watched her, every move, every hour, every day.

A chill went down to her back, shivers run down her arms. He was sick; he was out of his mind.

He had passed the border of being protective. Passed the border of invatuation.

He was obsessed, with her…

Her breath quickened at the discovery, she backed away from this twisted room. She had to get out; she had to get away from him.

Her back hit the wall behind her, she was too occupied with this sick discovery too realize where she was going. It didn't bother her, her back touching the wall, but her eyes gone wide when the said wall rumble behind her, a chuckle was heard from above her head.

Oh god, oh god, please, please, tell me it was a dream, please tell me it was just a nightma-

"Well, well. I'd never realized you would go here, to my secret place. Even after I told you not to," his smile was kind, soft and understanding.

In which she didn't believe any of it. God, oh god, he would kill her to shut her mouth. He would kill her and nobody would know. She began to hyperventilated, her body shook in fear. She backed away from him, trying to put more spaces between them, where he followed her slow step.

"But I understand that curiosity could get the best of you. After all, we're husband and wife." He kept move forward, not following her step anymore, but leading her even deeper to the sick room she desperately wanted to get out. "We have to understand each other, right  _darling_?"

* * * * *

Fin

* * * * *


End file.
